Interview with Paulina Kaminska – President of the Association of Young Biotechnologists – new member of YEBN

Paulina, what is AYB?
Association of Young Biotechnologists (AYB) is a student organisation created by medical biotechnology students who study at the Medical University of Silesia (Department of Pharmacy with Laboratory Medicine Division). We are a big (68 members) group of young, ambitious people, who want to develop their skills and make friends with people who share our passion – biotechnology.

What is the aim of your association?

The main aim of the Association of Young Biotechnologists is to connect people, with an interest in biotechnology, from national and international societies. At the beginning, we wanted to focus on student societies in Poland, but soon realised that it would be great to make “international connections”! That’s why we decided to join YEBN. Members of our organisation want to exchange their experiences with others, gaining new contacts and knowledge. We would also like to raise awareness amongst people who are not directly connected with the biotechnology area. As students of medical biotechnology, we also work to promote healthy living.

And what kinds of activities characterise your association to realise this aim?

The Association of Young Biotechnologists has been active for one year, but has already carried out a number of actions, and organised a lot of events. The first was “Antibiotics – Take it consciously”, organised in a shopping mall. During this event we talked to people about the dangers associated with antibiotic misuse. We also organised five meetings with students who graduated in Medical Biotechnology at our university. As future biotechnologists, we know that the process of making beer is a fundamental biotechnology. Therefore we organised two brewing workshops! 

In cooperation with another student organisation, from our university, we organised a conference to exchange our knowledge and experiences. This provided a platform for students to present results from their research. It is also worth mentioning that the Association of Young Biotechnologists organised “DNA Workshops”, demonstrating a number of scientific experiments in the city centre (Sosnowiec, Poland). Members of the association also took part in a similar event, but it was much bigger – 3rd Silesian Science Festival.


Why did AYB want to become a member of YEBN?

Being a member of YEBN will allow us to connect with people from Europe who are also interested in biotechnology. This is an opportunity for us to exchange our experiences with YEBN members and take part in a lot of great events. It is also a big chance to improve our languages skills.

Who are your members?

As I mentioned, members of our Association are medical biotechnology students of the Medical University of Silesia. We also have great support from our friends, who have already graduated from the university. They have more experience than us, which is really helpful! It is great that a lot of people are so engaged in Association actions. When you see that something can make an impact, that people want to help you in development of this, it makes you so happy and motivated!

How can interested Polish biotechnologist get in touch with you?

It’s not a problem – the easiest way to get in contact with us is by using Facebook. Here we post a lot of photos and information about our actions. Also, every Wednesday you can read a short post about biotechnology and human health. Currently everything is written in Polish but, in collaboration with YEBN, we will start to translate our posts into English. This is our Facebook website: http://www.facebook.com/smbsum . If you want to contact via e-mail, please write your message to smbsum@gmail.com or personally to me: paulakaminska97@gmail.com We will always be happy to answer!

Last but not least, what are your next big upcoming events?

Well, now we are having some rest because of the summer time. However, we are planning a lot of incredible actions, including joining YEBN. So stay tuned! We are coming back in October.

Thanks, Paulina. Do you have anything to add?

I would like to say that I am so grateful YEBN is considering adding the Association of Young Biotechnologists to it’s team. Only one year ago we were starting our society, nobody ever expected that we could achieve this! But everything the Association of Young Biotechnologists did, and will continue to do, is thanks to it’s fabulous members. Without their effort, this organisation would not exist. I am so happy that we can achieve great things together. These experiences do not only give us a chance to develop our skills, but to also make great memories and friends for years.